With numerous vendors and various types of managed file transfer (MFT) solutions to choose from, the market for MFT tools can be overwhelming. To assist in choosing the best MFT solution to fit your company’s secure file transfer needs, here is a countdown of the top 10 questions to get answered:
10. What is the pricing model of the MFT tool? What is the ROI and the TCO?
It is important to understand pricing from the start so you know whether the MFT solution works with your budget. Requesting pricing in the early stage avoids wasting time for you and the vendor. Knowing what functionality is included and what is considered add-on is also important to understand for correct budgeting considerations.
Remember, price isn’t just about the upfront cost—it’s about what you’re getting in terms of value and hidden costs (e.g., maintenance, upgrades). Don’t forget to factor in training and deployment costs, licensing models (subscription vs. perpetual), scalability costs and potential charges for premium features or technical support.
Understanding all aspects of the pricing model and how it calculates and converts into ROI and total cost of ownership (TCO) leads to productive budgetary discussions within your organization and in negotiations with the MFT vendor.
9. Does the MFT tool run in the cloud? Where is the MFT tool deployed?
As your organization grows, so will your file transfer needs. You don’t want to be stuck with a tool that can’t keep up. Look for scalability in terms of the volume of transfers, the number of users, and integration with new systems.
Consider whether the solution supports both cloud and on-premises environments, allowing for flexibility as your architecture evolves. Many organizations have initiatives to move business processes to the cloud. If your organization has adopted—or is considering adopting—a cloud-first strategy, the new MFT solution needs to align with it.
Industry compliance requirements and corporate policies may limit deployment of the MFT solution to certain locations—such as requiring data to stay within a company’s intranet or within a specific geo region. Additionally, knowing the distance between the deployment location and the organization’s entities or trading partners helps determine whether latency issues may arise.
8. How long does deployment, training and migration of the MFT tool typically take? Is partner onboarding efficient?
The length of time required from start of deployment to successfully transferring the first file is a good indicator of the complexity of both implementing and learning to use the new tool. A simple deployment process and minimal disruption to known business processes or routines leads to a fast, smooth migration from old MFT tool to new, which results in immediate return on investment (ROI).
The process of onboarding partners can be complicated and time consuming, especially in large organizations with numerous partners. An MFT tool that simplifies partner onboarding reduces IT overhead and partner integration management.
Look for a clean, intuitive dashboard for file transfers, monitoring, reporting and onboarding. Even IT professionals benefit from tools that are easy to navigate. If the tool requires constant intervention or has a steep learning curve, it could slow things down. Some tools offer drag-and-drop interfaces or integration with existing systems to make transfers smoother.
Watch our on-demand video demonstrations to see our user interface »
7. What pre-built integration does the MFT tool support? Is integration via APIs supported?
If your file transfer solution needs to integrate with certain applications, systems or an integration platform as a service (iPaaS), ask and verify early in the vendor vetting process its integration capabilities and platform compatibilities. Confirm what integration options are available: APIs, pre-built connectors or custom.
APIs can enhance, extend and streamline integration by allowing functionality and capabilities of the MFT tool—such as configuration, management, monitoring and alerts—to be orchestrated from other applications or iPaaS.
6. What protocols does the MFT tool support?
Different organizations use different protocols for data transfer (for example, SFTP, FTPS, AS2, etc.). Ensure the tool supports the protocols you use or plan to use.
Furthermore, look for a solution that can adapt to future needs (for example, support for cloud-based protocols, APIs, etc.).
5. What are its reporting and monitoring features?
Visibility into your file transfer activity is key to meeting compliance and security requirements and tracking performance metrics. At the very least, the MFT solution needs to include real-time monitoring, automated reporting, detailed logs and alerts for failed or delayed transfers.
Ideally, choose a tool that enables centralized management and integrates with your existing monitoring and security information and event management (SIEM) solutions.
Learn about the robust reporting and monitoring provided by Thru »
4. What kind of support and SLAs are offered?
In case something goes wrong, you need reliable support to ensure minimal downtime. Look for 24/7 customer support, clear service level agreements (SLAs) and the availability of dedicated technical support. A vendor’s support team should have a strong reputation and positive user reviews in terms of customer service and problem resolution.
3. Do you have customers in our industry that we can contact?
Customer references are great for understanding both the difficulties and benefits of implementing different MFT solutions. Customer references reveal how a product is used in real-world scenarios, making it easier for potential customers to see the product’s value. The endorsements may take the form of case studies, user reviews or introduction to a customer for their experience with the product.
A respected source of user reviews is G2, a software reviews site that aggregates user reviews and publishes a quarterly report for each software segment. Learn more about the best managed file transfer software from its most recent G2 Grid for Managed File Transfer Report »
2. What level of security is built into the MFT tool?
Securing your company’s data is a top priority. The solution used to transfer that data needs to have many layers and types of protection built-in to guard against data breaches in transit and at rest. Additionally, the tool must help you meet any additional security certification or compliance that your particular industry may require.
Look for encryption standards (e.g., AES-256), authentication mechanisms (e.g., multi-factor), and compliance with standards like GDPR, HIPAA and SOC 2. Additionally, ask about vulnerability testing and penetration testing to ensure the tool is actively maintained and updated.
1. What’s the tool’s performance like? Is a free trial available?
Gaining firsthand experience while using the solution is the best guide to whether it will meet the performance requirements for your organization. No one likes waiting for files to transfer, especially when time-sensitive data is involved. Look for simple browser-based workflow creation and test benchmarks on speed, especially if you’re working with complex workflows or large files. Some MFT tools have bandwidth management features that can optimize speed without compromising network performance.
With a free trial or proof of concept (POC), you can determine if the vendor’s claims are true and hear feedback from your IT team or trial users before committing to a purchase.
Getting Your Questions Answered to Find the Best MFT Tool
Don’t rely on just your own internet searches and their possibly biased and skewed results. Respected technology experts, analysts and consultants (such as pro2col, based in the UK) offer extensive knowledge and unbiased advice to businesses and their decision-makers.
Top MFT market experts that provide research-backed information include
Ultimately, the “best” MFT tool depends on your unique file transfer needs, and the right choice can simplify your workflow, enhance security, improve overall productivity and reduce costs. Evaluate your current or potential MFT solutions based on these questions and consider reaching out to multiple vendors for demos or trials.
Further Guidance in Selecting Your Secure File Transfer Solution
For additional guidance in evaluating MFT tools, read our MFT Buyer’s Guide. This guide dives deeper into the pre-purchasing process to step you through
- Top features checklist to prioritize MFT offerings
- Current state questionnaire to identify your top file transfer challenges
- Future requirements checklist to compare and evaluate MFT vendors
- Steps to calculate the ROI of an MFT solution
Or, please contact us to speak with one of our experts. Since 2002, Thru has helped solve demanding and complex managed file transfer challenges.
